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The human factor in licensing and operating the next generation of nuclear plants
As human factors specialists working at the intersection of human performance and nuclear operations, we are witnessing one of the nuclear sector’s most significant transitions in decades. The emergence of small modular reactors, microreactors, and other advanced designs is reshaping the industry’s landscape. Digital instrumentation and controls, passive safety systems, and increased automation are creating opportunities for greater safety margins and more flexible operation. These same features also fundamentally redefine what it means to “operate” a nuclear plant. Interactions among human roles, automation, and passive systems shape how people maintain awareness, exercise judgment, and intervene when necessary. These developments affect both operational realities and the regulatory foundations on which nuclear safety is built.
R. Boffy, J. Beaucour, F. J. Bermejo
Nuclear Technology | Volume 200 | Number 1 | October 2017 | Pages 54-65
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2017.1341780
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper describes the design, construction, and test of a setup able to make thermal neutron irradiation at grazing angles of incidence on a sample lying inside an isotropic high neutron flux. Such characteristics are deemed to be very interesting for the future research facilities that will provide intense neutron beams. Indeed, collimated beams can be found easily in neutron sources around the globe, but the new equipment enables use of a relatively intense flux that will allow fast testing of materials. The aim of this study is the understanding of the mechanical stability of structural materials used for the manufacturing of neutron guides such as borosilicate glasses. This new equipment proved the unstability of some of these glasses to thermal neutron irradiation when exposed above a given fluence.